The Republican journal., 1887-06-02

last GRAND DISCOVERY.
Correspondence of the Journal.
MEXICo, May. 1887. Everybody remembers
Lieutenant Flippcr. whose name figured so
cXten>ivcl, in tie newspapers a few years ago
the yoIsn.; colorcd graduate of West Point,
who was discharged from the service :> much
on ;ccoIiii Of the stain in his blood and pei
sccHiions arising thcrcfrum, Is fer alleged
mallcaS.,,..c In office. Wcll-hi> romance is
no longer that of "a poor youn5 man." for the
prospects are that hc is about to become the
richest negro in the world.
At West Point the. used to say little Flippcr
WAS givc 10 all lilnner of ''ilop>, . and his
latest masterpiece III that line has been 50 be-
willrring Il >u,t't>> that lie will speedily find
himself i millionaire nlany times told, able 10
buy ANA ,"ll i'll the lump the whole circle Of
his formr: Prosecutors. For some time he has
been in i,'' employ Of Il syndicate Of Chicago
capitalists and army officers, engaged in search
ing for the lost mines of Northern McNico--thc
traditional "Goi,!cn Srycn, of the Conpu>ta-
dore>. firpcr'~ party claiinto aved;-coycrcd
two Of these long ,li>il>td mineS-hc famous
qua, Mcpc :lnd Lalcina, which formed no small
part Of tir III Dorado of the touIucror> and
which still contain incXiiausiil,lc supplies of
precious inctal. The repor; is said to have
been confirmed beyond question. and Lieut..
Fiipper is now in Chicago. preparing TO enjoy
the fruits of his quest. Imagine the swell he
will cut, the diamonds he will sport. and the
brunette beauties who will vie with one another
for hi~ distinguished attentions, No doubt this
" American citizen Of African descent" will
make a. good u>c of hi, wealth rs most Young
men Who cone ty il suddenly: aud certainly
his enterprise in frrrrtinruut The lost treasures
deserves its full reward.
The discovery opens anew :; most interesting
subject. that Of
I'M: sE\ IN GoIDIN tIiIi.S
OF the early Mcxican~. whose fabulous wealth.
like The legend of the golden fleece, lurcl the
soldiers IF Eortez TO fresh explorations and
adventures. When the Spaniali> first ll,ing
open the door Of the New World, they were
a''lt;l,"l simply by lo>cof adventure. Twenty
wears Iaitr IA Inst for -oid and fame fired
IiIair" md Coite.. +" still more daring deeds.
and The >oc,!lri '-iioll War" of religious
rrnSa'iin9 liza! cn>llci was mcrciya IrctrNt for
conquest.
After suhiu=atin:: McNiro. Cortrz returned
10 Spain tu receive The lionoi> hcHicd upon
him leaNiiig yirrroy Glznan in charge OF the
conquered empire. The trouble with Guzman
who wasted 'ortez' wealth and abused hi,
friehd>- WIS thai his creed had been stirred l,y
the marvellous tales of an Indian servant. who
told Of Gu'flcn Cities to the northwar,l. in a
territory irt unvi>iied by amy EuropcaH 1t
WAS Il fable worthy of Queen SrhcrhenZa,lc.
hut this Mexican taiph believed it, and almost
died under tile mental strain of irving To
devise some WAY whereby he might discover
these golden @ioric> and appropriate ai their
treasures 10 himself. without l,.stn9 ANY other
>pani;trl into the secret.
The Indian aNoW"d that he remembered 90
81, l.,
with those people OF tie North. In their
towns he saw temples whose walls We're of
solid gold, and cnorninu> houses, covered with
plates of hnrai>fr'i gold. while workers in
gold filled all the streets. tlic commouest
utensils were made of }nIrc>t cold and silver.
and every Body We're ornaments blazing with
precious >tnHcS THESE Seven titcs->o said
the Eatiy, lay only thirty days journey across
the deserts. h"rihwari fromth city of Mexico.
Finally GuZman abandoned his trust. and
tin March of l3:9). with following of 100
spanish soldiers and about 10000 Indians. set
ont. determined to conIuor those rich tribes or
perish in The attempt. He made his way north
ward nearly Il thousand miles. meeting only
Sicrras and stretches of burning
sand. while the ipaiS ,tdt"mS of his dreams
~ far away is ever. At length his
provisions We're exhausted. his soldiers mutt
nous. and he was forced to temporarily a!,an-
don the expedition. Not daring to return TO
means giving up his project, bn, hroodn- upon
ii 10y night ;lad day. I'LL his final li.i'tu> came
in the gii>c Of an a>si>>n'> dagger.
But the yarns continually spun hy the male
Schcrh"nzaIc found other listeners ,> eager to
believe. The next explorer was
NlZEE. TIE FRANCISCAN MONK.
who started northwar,l. with his Mi>sal in one
hand and sword in the other. .vowny that he
relied solely upon supernatural guidance and
,s..l cN
lie pressed on and on through lonely noun
tain passes and over mighty deserts; and finally
returning. reported 10 Antonio tc Mendoza.
'on'lr de Tcndil'e. (who was Vice king of
Mexico from l:1:Ij TO l:t50), that he had found Il
Golden City. which must iinquc>tionabiy be
one of those described hy the Indian.
But Fiiar Nizer was more Of Il ro;ianccr
than his pric>tly character warranted. The
real truth WAS that he penetrated :> far rs The
borders of Sonora. where he found a recently
established monastery; and there he tarricd to
refresh himself among the sanity brethren.
sending forward Il Negro, named Stephens.
with 300 Indians, to look VI; the Golden Cities.
From frequent questions asked by these cx-
porcr>. the natives all along the route soon
de, icd their mission. and pcrpctratcd upon
them what in these days would be called Il
practical lokc-nventiny wild tales of magni-
crnrc with which to satisfy and get rid of the
dreaded Strangers. but always locating the
golden goal Il little further ahead.
by and by stephens sent Il messenger back to
\iIer. with fabulous reports of immensely
rich cities on a plain beyond the mountains :;
and though no white man had yet seen those
cities. the story WAS fully believed, since it met
the fance> Of the adventures. Thcreupon
NlIcr gIr'!c,l up his luins and went forward Il
little way, finding the country and the inhabi-
tants richer as he proceeded. At the edge of
the lirSt desert he halted. and there receiving
more good news from stephens. resolved to
wait for further Developments
The Negro and his band who always sent Il
native running ahead, with a "ourd fanta>tical-
~ decorated with feathers and bells. mounted
on Il stick. intended as Il symbol of peace at
last arriNt. at the gales of Il town. But the
taicqur thereof refused to he pacated by the
fantastic "our,l, and would not allow the
strangers to enter. When the latter became
m"rtunatc. the natives rallied out and killed
Stephens and all his band, except three who
Father NiZer; but the priest would not believe
HIM. alnl went forward himself Finally NiZci
climbed Il mountain. from whose summit h,
behcl'l in the plain beyond Il great city. witt
tat-roofrrl HOUSES and many inhabitants. So
in the easy way Of the COOL Catholics of thos,
days. he
TOOK POSSESSION OF THE EN- TIRE cor NrEY
10y mcrcl! >cttin" up a cross and declaring it t,
lie the joint property of the Lord and himself
While tn" >inplc-llcartcd people in the valley
Town weni about their usual business. what
ever il may have bcen-in happy ignoramc,
that they now belonged to Spain and had beer
ron>ccrats-d To ii new reli=ion-Nilcr hastclc,
back 10 central Mexico, and told as astOnishin.
tales OF adventure as later travellers are prom,
to invent. Everybody believed him. Don Cor
nnado, thea Governor of JaiSco. took him 1,
Niccr". Mendoza. and then her ''Tholis;n,
and ON" Stones" increased in mnutcnes> Of de
tail. Mendoza, thoroughly convinced, invested
half a million dollars in fitting out four hun
drcd Spanish soldiers to go and claim the Cite.
of Gold.
Early in the year 1911 the expedition set off
with Coronado himself in command. with yrea
pomp and ceremony. amid solemn Masses an,
Il perfect fnrOre of excitement. Padre Nize
was of the party, PLAYING his Schcrhcnzad,
part SO well that soon Coronado could no long
cr possess his soul in patience, but took trust,
few of his best men and pressed ahead in swift
er march. leaving the main army to follow
For many days they toiIcd through the burn
ing deserts and silent sicrras-a,lG at last reach
ed the very town which NiZer had seen from
tha mountain top. But, alas! Distance ha.
indeed lent cnchantment to the view. and j
proved to he such miserable place, compare,
to their vivid imaginings, that the soldier
could hardly he restrained from tcarim. th,
| monk in pieces.
Coronado. however, sent him back to hrin.
on the men left in the rear and by dint of lar,
fighting they succeeded in subdlIing several cit
les in that section. The natives thereabout
possessed extensive lands, weIl-cultvatcd, an,
considerable gold and silver from rich mine
near by-alI of which Coronado appropriate.
in the name of God and King Carlos-but hi
brightest hopes were never realized. as II,
Golden Cities had yet come to light. Then hc
gan the terrible oppression Of the PuebIa
which has blackencd the pages of Spanish his